North American F-86 Sabre
Prototypes
North American XP-86 Sabre/45-59597
- First Prototype
- First flight, October 1, 1947
- Delivered to the U.S. Air Force, December 1948.
- Assigned to 3077th EG, 1951
- Assigned to 2759th ABW, 1951
- Assigned to 4901st SW, 1952
- Survived a 27 kT nuclear test at Frenchman's Flat, NV, May 8, 1952
- Survived a 15 kT nuclear test at Frenchman's Flat, NV, May 25, 1951
- Sold for scrap from the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, January 1965
XP-86 Sabre/45-59597 being flown by NAA test pilot George S. Welch.
[Source: North American Aviation]
North American XP-86 Sabre/45-59598
- Second Prototype, 1948
- Delivered to the U.S. Air Force, May 1950.
- Used as a target on the Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, May 1953
- SOC: April 1953
- Transferred to the Department of the Army, April 1953.
North American Aviation XP-86 prototypes.
Front to back, 45-59598, 45-59597 and 45-59599.
[Source: National Archives and Records Administration]
North American XP-86 Sabre/45-59599
- Second Prototype, 1948
- Delivered to the U.S. Air Force, December 1948
- Assigned to 2759th ABW, 1948.
- Assigned to USAF 3077th EG, 1950.
- Written off at Edwards AFB, CA? Repaired?, June 26, 1950
- Assigned to 4901st SW.
- "Tested to destruction" on the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, August 31, 1953.
- Presumably in a nuclear bomb test.
- Struck off charge, April 1953
North American YF-86H-1-NA Sabre/52-1975
- First H-model prototype
- First flight, April 30, 1953.
- Returned to North American Aviation for tests.
North American Aviation YF-86H-1-NA Sabre 52-1975 during a test flight.
[Source: U.S. Air Force Photo]
North American YF-86H-1-NA Sabre/52-1976
- Second H-model prototype
- Returned to North American Aviation for tests.
- Struck off chagre: December 1962
- Reported preserved in Greenville, SC.
Research assistance provided by
- Dave Aaron
- Jean Aker
- Stewart Bailey
- Jim Baker
- Tjalling Boelman
- George Bowser
- Chris Brame
- Joseph Brown
- Charles Burdge
- James Burrett
- Philippe Carre
- Rick Centore
- Donny Chan
- Greg Coleman
- James Craik
- Juan de la Cruz Villar Rosales
- Tom Deegan
- Alexandre Gannier
- Bob Goodliffe
- Roger Gresham
- Phil Hawks
- Mark Holub
- Matthew Hopson
- Jim Kelsey
- Tom Kirk
- Steve Krug
- Fabrice Loubette
- Mark Loudy
- Stephen Lowry
- John McKenna
- Gary Meeker
- Michael Meinhardt
- Alex Mezentsef
- Steve Miller
- Marc-Eric Minard
- Paul Muller
- Peter Noddin
- Richard Nott
- Ron Picciani
- Paul Roales
- Gene Rogge
- Andrej Ruffiner
- Michael Scott
- Willis Smith
- Bill Stein
- Marley Stevens
- Ken Tomb
- Yves Tram
- Clive Turner
- Marius Vandenberg
- Joe Vincent
- Johan Visschedijk
- Mario Warnaar
- Larry Welty
- Steve Wibaldie
- Jörg Windmüller
- Mikel Wynn
- Thomas Yocum
- Eric Yokum
